Israeli Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory – July 2015

It seems like the month of July will become the “Dark July”, after the Israeli settlers violations against Palestinians increased, and get more violent. On the month of July 2014, a group of Israeli settlers assaulted and burned a Palestinian child; Mohammad Abu Khadir, in Jerusalem city, and in the month of July 2015, the Israeli settlers set fire in a Palestinian house owned by Dawabsha family in Duma village in Nablus governorate. The whole family members were inside the house; father, mother and two children (4 years and 18 months), as a result,  baby Ali Dawabsha (18 months) were killed in the same day  while his father died in his wounds two weeks later , the rest of the family members rest in hospitals in serious condition.

In Gaza strip, there is nothing different in the month of July 2015 from the others months of 2015, where the Israeli Authorities still violate the truce, where they attacked Palestinians on a daily basis, opened fire at Palestinians’ houses and lands which located near the border fence, in additional to attack Palestinian fishermen while they were sailing in Gaza sea. Moreover, the Israeli Occupation Authorities stationed at Beit Hanoun military terminal, north of Gaza strip, arrested Palestinians under several unclear pretexts. The Israeli Authorities still prevent the entrance of building materials and instruments, which needs to the re-building of Gaza strip after it was destroyed during the last Israeli war in the Summer of 2014.

During the month of July 2015, and in the West Bank, the Israeli colonial projects in the occupied Palestinian territory dramatically increased, for the main purposes of : expanding the Israeli illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, Uprooting the Palestinian from their land, Blur the Palestinian identity and Judaization of the holy city of Jerusalem . On the other hand , and on a step to fortify the Israeli colonial enterprise in the oPt,  the Israeli government approved an additional privileges  for  the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and in the occupied Golan Heights in which $132.3 million debt dropped from the aforementioned settlements.

In the eastern part of the occupied city of Jerusalem, the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem is looking to find new site for school, and then hoped to build 192 housing units, a 480-room hotel and commercial spaces on the land of the Islamic cemetery   of “Ma’man Alla” in Jerusalem city.

Furthermore ,  the Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee approved a massive construction project to be built over the current location of the cemetery, starting from the school. Also, Jerusalem’s Local Committee for Planning and Construction approved the plan for the “Green Line” of the light rail, which will allow direct travel from Gilo settlement, north of Bethlehem city, to Mt. Scopus (Har HaTzofim), north of Jerusalem city. The plan for the Green Line, which was formulated by the Ministry of Transportation and the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem, was approved by the Local Committee for Planning and Construction. The light trail route length will  stretches through an approximate 19.6km track.

In Bethlehem Governorate, the Israeli Supreme Court gives the Israeli Ministry of Defense the green light to begin building the separation wall in the Cremisan Valley in Beit Jala town in Bethlehem Governorate. In its new decision, the court limited the ban on building the wall to the lands surroundings of the Salesian Sister’s Convents, and the Salesian Monk’s Monastery, as well as the monasteries’ agricultural lands. The court ruled that the Israeli authorities can initiate building the wall on the privately owned lands by people from Beit Jala; thereby leaving-out only a small section, hundreds of meters in width and adjacent to the Salesian monasteries and their lands.

Moreover, the Israeli Authorities allocated 300 dunums of Palestinian land in Khallet An-Nahal area, south of Bethlehem city, to build 800 housing units as a part of what is known “E2 plan” which aims to construct 20,000  settlement housing units in the aforementioned area. Noted that the Israeli Authorities claimed that the targeted lands are owned by “ the Jewish National Fund (JNF), and lately, the Israeli Civil Administration allocated the 300 dunums of land to Efrat settlement, to construct a new settlement “Givat Eitam” in Khallet An-Nahla area.

In Jenin governorate, in the year of 2005, the Israeli Authorities implemented “the disengagement plan”, which resulted to the  the evacuation of all the Israeli settlements in the Gaza strip and a number of settlement in the West bank, included “Sanur settlement”, which located , southwest of Jenin city. However the Israeli settlers seek to resettle in the evacuated site  of the settlement of “Sanour”, and for that, during the month of July, a group of Israeli settlers escorted by the Israeli Occupation Army stormed the site and aimed to attack Palestinians while they were traveling near the adjacent road. 

It is worth pointed that , the month of July 2015 witnessed a qualitative leap in the Israeli settlers attacks against Palestinian residents and their properties, which resulted in  widening the circle of “hate targeting” and a drastic increase in settlers violent and aggressive and brutal attacks.

The Israeli Occupation Army also stormed and searched Palestinian houses and arrested residents. Also the Israeli occupation authorities expropriated more Palestinian lands, demolished houses and structures and uprooted trees.

Israel confiscated more than 600 dunums of private Palestinian Lands

During the month of July 2015, the Israeli Occupation Authorities issued the military order No. T/199/05 to confiscate 15.65 dunums of Palestinian land in Aqraba village in Nablus governorate. According to the analysis for the order and the attach map showed that the targeted land constitute a road link between an Israeli military point and an Israeli Telecom tower passes through a Bedouin committee.

While in Jerusalem Governorate, the Israeli Jerusalem Mayor, Nir Barkat, ordered 600 dunams of the lands of Issawiya to be temporary confiscated for gardening purposes, using a special municipal law that allows the municipality to make use of an empty lot for public uses for five years, in cases where the owner does not develop it.

580 trees were destroyed during the month of July

The Israeli Occupation bulldozers razed 20 dunums of Palestinian land in Beit Ula town in Hebron governorate, and destroyed 450 olive trees and demolished a water well.

And in Deir Istiya village in Salfit Governorate, the Israeli settlers uprooted about 80 trees.

While in Bethlehem Governorate, the Israeli settlers living in Efrat settlement destroyed tens seedlings of tomato and about 50 seedlings of cauliflower planted in 5 dunums of land in Al Khader village west of Bethlehem Governorate.

4 Palestinian houses and 13 structures were demolished in several areas in the oPt

As a part of  the Israeli policy to push the Palestinian residents of the oPt to voluntary immigration from their own lands and properties, the Israeli Occupation bulldozers demolished 4 houses and 13 structures during the month of July 2015, where the four houses were demolished in Jerusalem Governorate; in Silwan and Jabal Al Mukabbir towns.

 As for the structures, 8 structures were demolished in Jerusalem Governorate; specifically in Beit Hanina and Silwan, and the other 4 structures were demolished in Idhna and Beit Ula towns in Hebron Governorate.

It’s worth to mention that the Israeli Occupation authorities claimed that the targeted houses and structures, which located in several areas in the occupied West Bank, are illegal, and were built without permits from the Israeli Occupation Authorities.

Israeli demolition orders targeted 53 houses and structures in the occupied West Bank

The so-called “Israeli Civil Administration” related to the “Israeli Defense Ministry” issued dozens of demolition orders which targeted about 53 houses and structures in several areas in the occupied West Bank. Where in Bethlehem Governorate, the Israeli authorities issued 10 orders to demolish houses and structures, where the most of these orders targeted houses in Za’tara village, southeast of Bethlehem city.

And in Jerusalem Governorate, the so-called “Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem”  issued orders to demolish 4 several structures under the pretext of lacking building permits.

As for in Hebron Governorate, the Israeli Authorities targeted with their orders about 32 houses and structures. In Susiya village, the Israeli Authorities issued orders to demolish 15 houses, a clinic and a school. It’s worth to mention, that the Israeli Occupation Authorities seek to demolish all the houses and structures in Susiya village for the purpose of expulsing all the residents to use the area for their colonial and military projects.

46 Israeli Settlers attacks ….much aggressive and organized  attacks

During the month of July 2015, the Israeli settlers attacks against Palestinians increased and marred by violence. Indeed, the burning of an entire Palestinian family while sleeping in Duma village in Nablus constitute a clear example for the crimes convicted by the herds of the Israeli settlers in light of a formal Israeli absent of accountability (significant number of the settlers file crimes closed with no convictions!).  In general, the Israeli settlers attacks in July 2015, reach to 46 attacks and carried out in several areas in the occupied West Bank, where the most of their attacks carried out in Jerusalem governorate with 24 attacks and in Nablus governorate with 6 attacks. See chart No. 2

As for the type of these attacks it came as follows:

As a matter of fact , a  significant number of the Israeli settlers’ attacks were against the Palestinians with 20 attacks, and then against religious & Historic sites with 14 attacks. See chart No. 3

Israeli published tenders and approved plans to construct more than 1810 settlement housing units

The Israeli occupation authorities are seeking, systematically, to topple the demographic situation in the occupied territory for the interest of the Israeli settlers, with imposing new geo-political facts on the ground that clearly will lead to put the two-state solution peace choice on the stick.

Actually, Israel seeks to intensify the settlement construction in the Israeli illegal settlements in various settlements in the  oPt.

During the month of July 2015, the Israeli Occupation Authorities revealed on  about 1810 housing units; part of these units are existing and to be legalized and permitted , others get approval on the first plan draft, and plans were already approved in the past with some technical changes. On the other hand, the Israeli related authorities also published new tenders to construct new housing units. The table below  showed each settlement,  the planning stage, and the number of housing units:

Prepared by:  
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem